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Rotherfield is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
, England. It is one of the largest parishes in East Sussex. There are three villages in the parish: Rotherfield, Mark Cross and Eridge. The River Rother, which drains much of the county and discharges at Rye Harbour, has its source on the south side of the hill on which Rotherfield village is built.


Etymology

The name Rotherfield is thought to derive from the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
''redrefeld'' meaning ''cattle lands'', although it has been speculated that it may have originally been called or ''Hrytheranfelda'' meaning ''Hrother's field''. On the south side of the hill on which the village of Rotherfield is built, the River Rother has its source. The main tributary of the
River Adur The Adur ( or ) is a river in Sussex, England; it gives its name to the Adur district of West Sussex. The river, which is long, was once navigable for large vessels up as far as Steyning, where there was a large Saxon port, but by the 11th ce ...
in West Sussex has the same name, as does the river which runs through Rotherham, South Yorkshire.


History

There are written records of Rotherfield in the 8th century; it was also included in the Domesday Book of 1086 and in various other medieval documents. In Tudor times three of the inhabitants were burned at the stake for their religious beliefs. In the 18th century, the road through the village became part of the Turnpike Trust road between Tunbridge Wells and
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
. Until 1880, when a new ecclesiastical parish was formed,
Crowborough Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 33 miles (53 ...
was also part of the parish; in 1905 the latter became a civil parish in its own right.


Governance

The parish council consists of thirteen members, three representing the Eridge and Mark Cross ward and ten representing the Rotherfield Ward. This ward had a population of 2,433 at the 2011 Census.


Landmarks

Rotherfield parish lies to the south of Tunbridge Wells in the High Weald, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Within the parish boundaries lies
Bream Wood Bream Wood is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Crowborough in East Sussex. This steep sided valley wood has several locally rare ferns and mosses. There are a number of small ponds and acid springs and flora include t ...
, a designated
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
, comprising an area of woodland with a
ghyll A gill or ghyll is a ravine or narrow valley in the North of England and other parts of the United Kingdom. The word originates from the Old Norse . Examples include Dufton Ghyll Wood, Dungeon Ghyll, Troller's Gill and Trow Ghyll. As a related ...
hosting several species of fern and moss not found elsewhere in the area. The Rotherfield Millennium Green was set up in 2000. It is run by a group of volunteer trustees who manage it for the village. Rotherfield has been designated as a conservation area because of the quality of the buildings, including the
Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
St Denys Church.


The villages


Rotherfield

Rotherfield was originally a
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
settlement in an area generally covered with oak forest. The church stands at the top of a hill, and was then surrounded by cleared land. The areas nearest to the valley bottoms, where water was available, were farmed. Rotherfield became a royal hunting estate in the times of Kings
Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...
, Athelstan and William Rufus. Winner of Calor East Sussex Village of the Year Award 2007


Eridge

Eridge () or Eridge Green is a small village but not a civil parish: it is situated on a sandstone ridge in the northern borderlands of
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
next to Kent, having some publicly accessible woodland and trails with far-reaching views across the Kent and Sussex countryside. Although the village is in East Sussex, its post town of Tunbridge Wells is in the former
postal county The postal counties of the United Kingdom, now known as former postal counties, were postal subdivisions in routine use by the Royal Mail until 1996. The purpose of the postal county – as opposed to any other kind of county – was to aid the ...
of Kent. The name Eridge is thought to derive from 'Eagle ridge', or 'ridge frequented by eagles'. It is directly north of Rotherfield, and largely overlaps the ecclesiastical parish of Eridge Green. It was formed on 5 February 1856 out of parts of the former parishes of
Frant Frant is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, on the Kentish border about three miles (5 km) south of Royal Tunbridge Wells. When the iron industry was at its height, much of the village was owned ...
, Rotherfield,
Eridge Park Eridge Park () is a village and historic park located north of the parish of Rotherfield, to the north-east of Crowborough in East Sussex, England. The adjoining home of the same name is the seat of the Marquess of Abergavenny. The area is a b ...
and Eridge Castle, the latter being the seat of the Earl and Marquess of Abergavenny. On the village street is the church which is grade II listed, a mainline railway station (Eridge) and six other listed buildings including the public house, the '' Neville Crest and Gun''. In 1792 Henry Nevill, 2nd Earl of Abergavenny converted the old Eridge House into a
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
castle, which he named "Eridge Castle". It was replaced by a Neo-Georgian mansion in the 1930s after the original structure was badly damaged by fire. The area also contains several follies, including the Saxonbury Tower and several ornamental buildings near the Sham Farm business park. The undulating park and garden of Eridge Park is densely wooded to its north (Whitehill Wood) and south (Saxonbury Hill) and is highly rated (Grade II* listed) for its landscape. The A26 road between Tunbridge Wells and
Crowborough Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 33 miles (53 ...
passes through the village.


Mark Cross

Mark Cross is located to the east of Rotherfield, at the junction of the A267 and B2100 Lamberhurst to
Crowborough Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 33 miles (53 ...
road. One notable residence is Walter's Mill, a house converted from a windmill.


Boarshead

Boarshead, a hamlet within the parish, developed around the A26 road between Crowborough and Eridge. Current amenities include an eponymous pub and a public golf course.


Education

There are two primary schools in the parish: Rotherfield Primary School, located in North Street, and Mark Cross CE Primary School.


Community projects

Rotherfield St Martin is a charitable organisation that provides social support and arranges activities to older adults in the area.


Religion

There are five churches within Rotherfield parish: Rotherfield's 11th-century parish church is dedicated to
St Denys St Denys is a partially riverside district of Southampton, England, centred north north-east of the city centre facing variously Bitterne Park and quay across the River Itchen estuary. The river is here spanned in the mid-east extreme of t ...
. A timber church was first built on the site in 792 AD, and the present sandstone church occupies the same site; the original church is believed to have been under the north-east corner of the current building, in the area now known as the Nevill chapel. The Nevill family were Lords of the Manor from 1450. The building was extended at various times, with the last major alteration being the addition of the tower, porch and spire in the 15th century. The original spire was destroyed by a storm in October 1987, and reconstructed using a steel frame raised to the roof by helicopter. Construction of the tower meant that a new porch and entrance had to be built on the north side of the nave, to replace the west door obstructed by the tower. A new west door was also built. Also in Rotherfield are the Providence Chapel ( Strict Baptist); and the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to
St Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...
, Prince of Apostles. A former Methodist chapel at Town Row, between Rotherfield and Mark Cross, was closed in the early 21st century. The church in Mark Cross is dedicated to
St Mark Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Accor ...
; that at Eridge Green, to the
Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
.


Transport

The
A267 road A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
between Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne passes through the parish. The one railway station still operating in the parish is at Eridge, served by
Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...
trains between Uckfield and London Bridge and since 2011 by the preserved Spa Valley Railway trains to Tunbridge Wells West. Until 1965 it was the junction for the cross-country railway to Hailsham, Polegate and Eastbourne. The parish used to be served by
Rotherfield and Mark Cross railway station Rotherfield and Mark Cross (also Rotherfield) is the name of a closed station on the Eridge - Heathfield - Polegate railway (the Cuckoo Line) in East Sussex. The station was built by London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and closed with the l ...
on the
Cuckoo Line The Cuckoo Line is an informal name for the now defunct railway service which linked Polegate and Eridge in East Sussex, England, from 1880 to 1968. It was nicknamed the Cuckoo Line by drivers, from a tradition observed at the annual fair at ...
which closed in 1965: It was situated adjacent to the B2100 road in the small village of Town Row about one mile east of Rotherfield. The former railway station is now a private house.


Leisure, culture and sport

In the Eridge area lies one of several local sandstone outcrops used for climbing. The village hosts two drama groups: Stage Door Drama School for young people and the Rotherfield Players. The area has the following pubs: in Rotherfield, the ''Catts Inn'' and the ''Kings Arms''; in Mark Cross, the ''Mark Cross Inn''; and in Eridge, the ''Huntsman'' and the ''Nevill Crest and Gun''. The local recreation ground is home to Rotherfield Football Club who play in the Mid-Sussex Football League. On the first Saturday in October, Rotherfield plays host to its annual carnival night organised by the Rotherfield and Mark Cross Bonfire Society. This is a
torchlight procession An illuminated procession is a procession held after dark so that lights carried by the participants form a spectacle. The lights will commonly be of the same type, so making a candlelight procession, lantern parade or torchlight march. Examples ...
through the village streets involving many other Sussex Bonfire and Carnival societies. This is an old Sussex tradition which predates the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot but is now part of the buildup to the celebrations in
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
on Bonfire night. This is the biggest event the village holds per year, and often sees crowds of up to 3,500 people lining the streets. The climax of the evening is the bonfire and fireworks display. Money raised from the event is given to local charities.


Notable residents

*
Richard Jefferies John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood on a small Wiltshire farm had a great influ ...
(1848–1887), writer, lived briefly at ''Rehoboth Villa'' (now ''Brook View House''), Jarvis Brook, Rotherfield. * Sophia Jex-Blake (1840–1912), one of the first women doctors, lived in Mark Cross: she is buried in Rotherfield graveyard. *
Anton Zwemmer Anton Zwemmer (1892–1979) was a Dutch-born British bookseller, book distributor, art dealer, publisher and collectorChloe RendallZwemmer's modernistarchives.com. Retrieved 20 February 2021. who founded Zwemmer's Bookshop and the Zwemmer Gallery ...
(1892–1979), Dutch-born British bookseller, book distributor, art dealer, publisher and collector, lived here the late 1970s


References


External links


Rotherfield Parish Council
{{Authority control Villages in East Sussex Civil parishes in East Sussex Wealden District